Formed gloves



April 7, 1936. w. HERBRUCK 2,036,413

FOBMED GLOVES Filed Jan. 27, 1934 @H011 puja,

Patented Apr. 7, 1936 UNITED sTATEs FORDIED GLOVES Wendell Herbruck,Canton, Ohio, assignmto The Wilson Rubber Company, Canton, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application January 27, 1934, Serial No. 708,616

2 Claims.

My invention relates generally to formed gloves, and more particularlyto formed pref erably one-piece gloves which are made of rubber whichhas been processed either from the 5 solid or latex state, or of acompound or compounds including rubber, or which are made of anyrubber-like or elastic composition, or of rubber or elastic cloth.

Gloves made of the foregoing materials are used for many purposes,including among others: for insulating the hands of the wearer fromelectric currents, particularly high voltage currents; for protectingthe hands of the wearer from tissue destroying solutions, such as acids;for protecting the hands of the wearer engaged in occupations requiringthe grasping and manipulating of tools, utensils and other objects; andmore generally for protecting the hands of the wearer wherever desirablefor practical or other reasons when the hands must be introduced intogaseous atmospheres, and/or liquid bodies, and/or when the hands musthandle or manipulate solid substances or elements.

In using or manipulating a hand protected by a usual glove made ofrubber or other similar material as aforesaid, which may be genericallytermed an elastic glove, there is not only a pressure or strain set upin the material of the glove in the act of bending the ngers or thumb ofthe hand and thus of the glove, but there is also a continued strain inholding thengers or thumb in any bent or curved position, after suchposition has once been attained. Consequently in the use of usualelastic rubber gloves, one of the greatest disadvantages is the factthat the continued use thereof causes great fatigue in the fingers andhands of the user.

Moreover, in an ordinary elastic rubber glove, the fingers and thumb atthe palm side or" the glove are straight tapered or uniformly curved,and when any finger or thumb is bent, there is a compression orirregular folding of excess rubber on the palm side of the finger orthumb, particularly in a glove of the heavier weights, and 45 the rubberof the glove wears more quickly at the irregular folds, and it is notonly dangerous for wear or weakness to occur at these irregular folds onthe palm or grasping surface of the glove, but the life of the glove isalso limited because of the creation of the compressed irregular folds.

Accordingly, the objects of the present inven tion include the provisionof arl improved formed elastic glove particularly adapted to be made ofrubber preferably in one piece, and in which strains in the material ofthe formed glove itself are minimized during the manipulation or usethereof, and also which minimizes strains upon the hand of the userwithout in any way impairing the sensitiveness of the fingers in a gloveof any particular wall thickness, and with a consequent increased lifeof the glove.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the gloves, parts,improvements, combinations, and sub-combinations, which comprise thepres-y ent invention and which are particularly and distinctly pointedout and set forth in the appended claims forming part hereof.

The nature of the improved formed glove of the present invention :may bestated in general terms as including preferably a one piece formedelastic glove preferably made of rubber which has been processed eitherfrom the solid or latex state.

The improved formed glove may also be made oi a compound or compoundsincluding rubber, or of any rubber-like or elastic composition, or ofrubber or elastic cloth, it being understood that the elasticity of thematerial of a glove made of rubber or similar material is the inherentcause of the above set forth objections to usual elastic gloves overcomeby the present invention.

On the inner or palm side of the glove, preferm ably each finger thereofand the thumb is a onepiece portion of the preferably one-piece gloveand is formed preferably at each joint with an outwardly openingtransverse groove, and the 'fingers and thumb are preferably formed in abent or longitudinally curved shape to simulate the natural unstrainedposition of the human hand.

Each outwardly opening transverse groove is formed in the preferablyelastic material of the glove and has sides and ends.

lf desired, however, the fingers and thumb may be formed longitudinallystraight tapered and provided with the transverse grooves.

The fingers and thumb of the improved glove are also preferably providedon their outer or back sides with an outwardly protruding bulge at eachknuckle of the fingers and thumb.

- By providing the transverse grooves on the palm sides of the fingersand thumb of the glove as aforesaid, preferably with opposite bulges onthe back sides thereof, the fingers and thvumb of the improved glove arevery easy to bend and manipulate because the rubber in the groove takesup when the ngers and thumb of the glove are bent in substantially thesame manner as docs the skin of the fingers and thumb of the hand, theelastic material of the grooves uniformly folding upon itself.

'I'he provision of the outer bulges further facilitates the bending ofthe fingers and thumb and makes it easier to maintain the same in abent; or curved position in use.

Several preferred embodiments of the improved formed elastic glove ofthe present invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawingforming part hereof, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation view of oneembodiment of the improved glove with curved fingers and thumb and withtransverse grooves and bulges on each finger and thumb, portions of theindex finger of the glove being broken away and illustrated in sectionto morev clearly illustrate the formation of the same;

Fig. 2, a palm side view of the glove of Fig. 1, with portions of thethumb being broken away and illustrated in section to more clearlyillustrate the formation thereof;

Fig. 3, a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating another embodiment of theimproved glove with curved ngers and thumb, and with transverse groovesonly on the palm sides of the fingers and thumb, and Without bulges;

Fig. 4, a view similar to Figs. 1 and 3, illustrating another embodimentof the improved glove hereof, in which the fingers and thumb arestraight tapered, and in which the ngers' and thumb are provided withtransverse grooves and bulges; and

Fig. 5, a view similar to Figs. 1, 3 and 4, illustrating still anotherembodiment of the improved glove hereof, having straight tapered fingersand thumb, and transverse grooves on the fingers and thumb but withoutbulges.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

One embodiment of the improved formed elastic glove of the presentinvention is indicated generally by Ill in Figs. l and 2, and consistsas illustrated of a one piece rubber glove having longitudinally curvedfinger members I I and a. thumb member I2, whose shape closelyapproximates the natural position and conformation of the fingers andthumb of a relaxed hand.

The finger and thumb covering members II and I2, which may otherwise betermed elongated covering members, extend from a body portion I3 of theglove which provides a covering for the palm proper, the back thereof,and usually for the wrist of the hand of the wearer.

On the palm side of each of the finger covering members I I and of thethumb covering member I2 of the glove I0, a plurality of outwardlyopeningV transverse bending grooves I4 are formed, each bending grooveI4 being positioned to overlay one of the bending creases normallyoccurring opposite each ojint on the palm side of each finger and thumbof the hand of the wearer of the glove. 'Ihe bending grooves I4 beingformed in the elastic material of the glove, each has sides and ends asbest shown in Fig. 2.

The back side of each finger covering member II and thumb coveringmember I2 of the glove I is preferably provided with outwardlyprotruding knuckle bulges I5, each-knuckle bulge I5 being locatedopposite one of the bending grooves I4.

The improved glove I 0 having the curved finger covering members II andcurved thumb covering member I 2 with palm side bending grooves I4 andback side knuckle bulges I5, may be bent and otherwise manipulated bythe hand of the wearer with a minimum muscular force or strain, eitherin bending or manipulating the glove or maintaining the same in a bentposition, the bending of the fingers and thumb occurring regularly onthe grooves I4, and the glove I0 as thus constructed is easy tomanipulate even when the Wall I6 thereof is relatively thick as in thecase oi' an electricians glove.

The improved glove IIO of Fig. 3 is generally similar to the glove II),lbut is not provided with knuckle bulges.

The glove 2I0 of Fig. 4 is provided both with bending grooves andknuckle bulges, but the finger and thumb covering members thereof arestraight tapered.

'I'he glove 3I0 of Fig. 5 has straight tapered finger and thumb coveringmembers having bending grooves but without knuckle bulges.

The embodiment I0 of the improved glove is the preferred form, but anyof the illustratedl embodiments of the glove provide the advantage ofthe bending grooves in facilitating manipulation of the gloves andincreasing the life thereof.

I claim:

1. A glove having formed elastic elongated cov` ering members, one ofthe covering members having on the palm side thereof an outwardlyopening transverse bending groove and having at the back side thereof anoutwardly protruding knuckle bulge, the groove and the bulge beingformed opposite each other in the material of the covering member andthe groove having sides and ends.

2. A glove having formed elastic finger and thumb covering members, thecovering members having on the palm sides thereof outwardly openingtransverse bending grooves and having at the back sides thereofoutwardly protruding knuckle bulges, the grooves and the bulges beingformed in the material of the covering members, each groove beingopposite one of the bulges, and each groove having sides and ends.

WENDELL HERBRUCK.

